USS ''LST-24'' was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

used exclusively in the

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and manned by a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

crew. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation.

Construction and commissioning

''LST-24'' was laid down on 19 November 1942, at

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, by the

Dravo Corporation Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation went public in 1936 and in 1998 it was bought out by Carmeuse for $ ...

; launched on 17 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite E. Davis, and placed in reduced commission on 3 May 1943. She was floated down the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

rivers to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, for her

fitting out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

; and fully commissioned on 14 June 1943.

Service history

''LST-24'' sailed from Galveston, Texas, on 29 July 1943, with Convoy HK 113 heading for Key West, Florida, where she arrived on 2 August 1943. ''LST-24'' operated in the

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

area from 1 to 6 February 1944, and in the Guadalcanal area from 7 to 28 February, that same year. In the latter area she was engaged in transporting cargo and personnel in the

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest o ...

and

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. On 4 April 1944, she was at Tutila, Samoa. She participated in the capture and occupation of Guam during August 1944. She returned to Finschhaven on 11 September, and then went on to participate in the

Western New Guinea campaign The Western New Guinea campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Dutch East Indies KNIL, United States and Australian forces assaulted Japanese bases and positions in the northwest coastal areas of Netherl ...

. She landed troops and equipment during the Morotai landings in September 1944, and then at the Leyte landings in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, participating in General Douglas MacArthur's promised liberation of the islands from the Japanese occupation, through October and November 1944. ''LST-24'' was also at the

Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon ( tl, Labanan sa Luzon; ja, ルソン島の戦い; es, Batalla de Luzón) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, and allies agai ...

Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945. Proceeding by the way of Russell Islands and Guadalcanal, ''LST-24'' reached

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

on 25 February 1945, and then

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. She departed Manila on 21 March, stopping at

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, ...

and arrived at Hollandia on 24 March 1945. She then went on to participate in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from March through June 1945. ''LST-24'' finished her combat career with the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from the end of March until 24 June 1945, when she departed for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

via

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, arriving there on 9 December 1945. From there she proceeded to

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

via San Diego and the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terri ...

Postwar career

She was decommissioned and her Coast Guard crew removed on 16 February 1946. She was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

on 5 June 1946. On 23 December 1947, she was sold to the Humble Oil & Refining Co., of Houston, Texas, and was converted for merchant service.

Honors and awards

''LST-24'' earned five

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her World War II service.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LST-24 LST-1-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Pittsburgh 1943 ships United States Navy ships crewed by the United States Coast Guard Ships built by Dravo Corporation